The next morning, Kikoru suited up and headed over to the control room. She had prepared several excuses to deflect and mislead in the event she was grilled about Kafka’s true nature.
She knocked on the door and heard Hoshina say “Come in” from inside.
“Kikoru Shinomiya, reporting, sir.”
Hoshina wasn’t alone in the room. Their captain, Mina Ashiro, was present as well. On top of a desk between them and Kikoru was a thick, heavy case. A cable was connected to it, and an operator was performing some kind of data check on it.
“Shinomiya, sorry we couldn’t take care of this yesterday,” Hoshina said.
“Captain Ashiro, Vice-Captain Hoshina. What is th—”
“Oh, relax, please. This is definitely nothing you should worry about.”
Nothing to worry about? Did that mean it had nothing to do with Kaiju No. 8?
The captain, Ashiro, fixed her eyes upon Kikoru and solemnly spoke: “Kikoru Shinomiya, I’m issuing you a custom weapon.”
“A custom weapon?”
As those utterly unexpected words reached her ears, Kikoru’s eyes snapped wide open.
Custom weapons were anti-kaiju neutralization devices issued to those with combat power in the same class as division captains or vice-captains. The term was applicable to both the high-caliber automatic gun used by Ashiro and the katana used by Hoshina. The downside to their power, she’d also heard, was that those without the unleashed combat power of your average Defense Force officer were barely able to use them.
Anyway, at least it’s not about Kaiju No. 8. In that case, all’s well, I guess.
Kikoru breathed a sigh of relief and looked up to face the other two. “Does this mean that I’m captain class?” she asked.
“Normally, it would. This decision was made in light of certain circumstances,” Hoshina said.
Ashiro added that the strength and frequency of that year’s emerging kaiju had also been a factor in the decision.
“Well, don’t worry about that,” Hoshina continued. “This is purely based on consideration of your ability. There’s no reason to think it’s because your parents were the director general of the Defense Force and the captain of Second Division.”
“Is that so?” Kikoru asked. “Um, not that I’d thought that to begin with.” Kikoru was aware that her abilities were outstanding even in the outfit she was a part of. She also knew her abilities were inferior to those of the two people standing in front of her—Captain Ashiro and Vice-Captain Hoshina.
“Let’s begin, shall we? This is a special-order item made with the cooperation of Izumo Tech and our own Science Division. It’s still a prototype, so there’s room for improvement, but this is your custom weapon.” Hoshina put a hand up to the biometric recognition system next to the case. The case opened, and liquid nitrogen rapidly boiled off. When the white fog had cleared, a gigantic weapon revealed itself.
“This is my custom weapon?” Kikoru gasped.
Inside the case was a gigantic greatsword—even longer than Kikoru was tall.
“How about it? You like it?” Hoshina asked.
“At this point in time,” said Ashiro, “there’s no liking it or otherwise. To know a weapon, you have to use it.”
Hoshina nodded at Ashiro’s words. “Well said. Shinomiya, can you head over to the training ground now?”
“Is there going to be an unveiling ceremony?” Kikoru asked. “Of course. That’s what I was hoping.”
Once the weapon case had been closed and arrangements made for its transport, a knock sounded outside the door. When the door opened, the television crew was standing there.
“Reporters?” Kikoru asked. “Why are they here?”
“I called ’em. Said, ‘Officer Shinomiya’s gonna do something cool, so come on down if you like,’” Hoshina explained.
“And you want me to do it on the training ground.” Kikoru zipped her suit up all the way to her neck. “Understood. I’ll try out my custom weapon.”
Everyone went over to the outdoor training ground. The weather was nice, with sunlight streaming down. Okonogi, the operators, and members of the Science Division who’d been involved with the weapon’s development were all gathered there.
“Quite the turnout, isn’t it?” Kikoru asked.
“Well, it’s rare to develop a custom weapon,” explained Okonogi. “Even in Third Division, mine and the captain’s are all we’ve had until now. That makes you the third to get one.”
That’s true, which means they’re counting on me. In that case, I have to meet their expectations.
Kikoru unleashed her suit’s combat power. The interwoven strands of kaiju muscle within the suit began synchronizing with her body. She unlocked the recognition device on the case and stood poised with the huge greatsword resting on one shoulder. Its blade, black as lacquer, reflected the sunlight. She swung it downward so that it faced her eyes. There was a powerful whoomph of sundered wind.
“It’s fairly light, given its size,” Kikoru remarked.
“About that!” Okonogi said, pushing up her round glasses. “It was made from the shell of the reptilian kaiju that emerged in Hamamatsu last year. I heard the thing was a nightmare to process, even for Izumo Tech. But they say that with its lightness and strength, the final product is satisfactory.”
“Is that so?” Kikoru asked. “The crown jewel of the company’s hard work, eh?”
Kikoru walked out to the designated position. She was about to perform a basic training exercise in which she would race against time to destroy a set of targets distributed around the training ground. Ashiro was with Okonogi and the rest beneath a portable awning. Her arms were crossed, and she was watching Kikoru with keen eyes. Combat power total release: 96 percent. The greatest combat power in the Third Division. She left Kikoru behind in the dust.
I knew it at Sagamihara. Right now, I’m still nowhere near the captain or vice-captain.
Okonogi’s voice rang out from the communicator: “All right, Officer Shinomiya. I’ll give you a countdown: ten, nine—”
Kikoru breathed in deep as her suit continued accommodating itself to her body. As her blood circulated, the oxygen spread to her body’s remotest extremities.
“—two, one—zero!”
At the end of the countdown, Kikoru leapt. In front of her and to the right, a target emerged from behind a block wall. Using the force of the jump to swing the giant sword, she sent it flying. Without losing momentum from her leap, she spun around in midair and landed on top of the wall. When the next target appeared, it was on the roof of a house directly in front of her. She kicked off the wall, leaping upward, and swung the sword in a wide horizontal arc, mowing down the target.
“Next!”
Swinging a real sword—even a regular-sized one—required tremendous physical strength. Even more so with a gigantic sword like this one. When wearing her suit, Kikoru could easily pick up an automobile, but it was still uncertain whether she could use an enormous sword to its fullest. That turned out to be a baseless concern, however. The sword felt as light as a feather.
Good heavens, what a weapon!
She obliterated the final target, then headed back toward Okonogi. “How’d I do?” Kikoru asked the operator.
“Your time—was one minute and three seconds. Estimated unleashed combat power: 57 percent!”
A murmur rose up from the onlookers. Her time had shrunk even more since last time, making a new record. It was not a record that newly arrived first-years ever made.
The TV crew looked pleased, feeling they had managed to capture some good footage. But Kikoru herself was not smiling one bit.
“What’s the matter?” Okonogi asked. “Your numbers were fantastic. What’s with the sour face?”
“I think this weapon is easy to use, but to be honest, I don’t feel like I did enough with it. Even after hitting several targets, I still don’t know what this thing can do.”
At scenes of emergences, Kikoru and the others weren’t met with unmoving bull’s-eyes. There were kaiju, with bodies that were hundreds of times larger than her own. This kind of training probably hadn’t drawn out even a tenth of the performance this sword was capable of.
“Hoshina,” said Ashiro. “You let those kaiju captured at Isehara loose in Training Area Five, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. Three yoju and one honju.”
“The behavioral research and analysis of their uniorgans was already finished,” Ashiro continued. “And their fortitude’s too high to use in the screening exam. They’ll make perfect opponents for Shinomiya, though.”
“What are their numbers?” asked Kikoru.
Okonogi manipulated her electronic tablet and said, “The honju was estimated at 6.2 at the time of capture.”
“That’s perfect, isn’t it?”
Though the screening exam had been disrupted by Kaiju No. 9, there had also been a honju that they’d been unable to do anything against. It had had an estimated fortitude of 6.4. She could compare how she’d done that time and figure out how much she’d grown.
“I’ll get approvals from the relevant departments right away, then,” Hoshina said. “Ms. Okonogi, would you help me out with that?”
Hoshina and Okonogi headed off toward the main office building.
“Shinomiya, show us what you’ve got,” said Ashiro.
In answer to her penetrating gaze, Kikoru saluted.
“Yes, ma’am!”